Porsche Set to Take on Tesla with the Mission E

Recently in Stuttgart, Germany, the board members at Porsche AG were overheard shouting “Down with Tesla!” from a launch-controlled mega-parade of 911 Turbos.

Okay. That may not have really happened, but the German carmaker is undoubtedly steeling itself to take on American business mogul Elon Musk’s electric car manufacturer, Tesla. To underscore their commitment toward the endeavor, Porsche’s top management has approved the continuation of the so-called Mission E concept -- the stunning all-electric sedan the company unveiled earlier in 2015 -- for full production as Porsche’s first-ever fully-integrated electric vehicle.

Among the first people to come out and applaud Porsche for their new project was Uwe Hück, who is deputy chairman and labor leader. He called it a day to make merry and celebrate, adding “Yes, we did it!”

Porsche is investing more than 700 million into this venture. It is also making plans to hire at least 1,000 new staff to help the company actualize the dream. Other plans include constructing a brand new assembly plant, enlarging their Weissach testing site, and upgrading their body shop and engine plant. What this means, is that Porsche will be hand-building their electric motors from scratch, with the planned debut expected by 2020.

According to industry pundits, Porsche may indeed be on a mission to outdo Tesla, but their mission will not be an easy walk in the park. The American carmaker is still the only manufacturer that builds the only heavy duty pure EV in the vehicle industry.

Porsche plans to build a car with an 800-volt charger that will be capable of refilling a spent battery up to 80%, or 250 miles, in just fifteen minutes. The company says that this will allow for a total of 310 miles per charge, despite the fact that electrical connection in question is not in existence yet. Still, Porsche engineers have indicated that they are equal to the task and are expected to figure this out sooner than later. In fact, if everything goes according to plan, Porsche’s all-electric car could boast a whopping 600 horsepower, with a zero-to-62 mph transition time of less than 3.5 seconds.